Former Vice Lord gets 11 years for drug charges, lying

Oct. 16, 2013

Written by

Samantha Hearn

The Tennessean

A former member of the Vice Lords street gang was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and lying under oath.

Quinice Cross, 32, and 25 others were the target of a nearly two-year federal wiretap investigation in 2010 for their involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

He was arrested in June 2011 after federal agents found him with 9 ounces of cocaine in Clarksville. Cross maintained after his arrest that he had not been read his Miranda rights and that police officers had coerced him into making an involuntary statement.

Cross continued to maintain his innocence until July 2013, when he pleaded guilty to three counts of possession and distribution with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of crack, and perjury.

In presenting the sentence, U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp provided a review of Cross’ background, citing that he is married and has four children, ages 9, 12, 13 and 14. He also noted that when Cross was young, he witnessed a childhood friend kill himself and that he witnessed a similar incident in his adulthood.

Sharp also pointed out that Cross has had problems with drug and alcohol abuse and that his employment history is “shoddy at best.”

“I want to enter a drug treatment program,” Cross said during his sentencing hearing. “I want to get out and take care of my kids the best I can.”

Cross will be under supervised release for five years after completing his sentence, Sharp said.

Samantha Hearn is a reporter for Seigenthaler News Service-MTSU. She can be reached at 615-881-7683 or at shearn2.sh@gmail.com.